Brett Ratner Is Fighting Back Against Rape Charges, Suing Accuser For Defamation

Brett Ratner is the focus of several accusations of sexual assault or sexual harassment, and some are from actresses with famous names. But while Ratner is staying mum on the topic of many of the complaints, he is fighting back against one, Melanie Kohler, less known than the others. Brett Ratner had threatened to sue Kohler, and now he has filed a defamation suit.

And Brett Ratner is not alone with the decision to push back in reference to accusations of sexual harassment and sexual assault. Brett Ratner’s old friend, James Toback, is dealing with his own issues, with a growing list of women coming forward to point their finger at Toback. This list includes actresses Selma Blair and Rachel McAdams. Toback is claiming that all of the women are lying, and he couldn’t have assaulted anyone due to health issues like diabetes and a heart problem.

But when Rachel McAdams saw that Toback called other less famous actresses liars, she felt the need to come forward, even though she says that she never wanted to revisit the traumatic day she met James Toback.

“I did not want to talk about this ever again. However, even though it is a really bad memory, I feel like some good could come from talking about it now.”

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But while Brett Ratner doesn’t want to talk about whether Natasha Henstridge or Olivia Munn are telling the truth, he has filed a defamation lawsuit against Melanie Kohler. Kohler insists that 12 years ago, she was raped by Brett Ratner. Ratner calls this a total lie, but Kohler is giving details saying that Ratner “preyed on me as a drunk girl [and] forced himself upon me” according to documents.

Melanie Kohler says that Brett Ratner took her to the home of Robert Evans and forced himself on her. Kohler added this information and more details on a Facebook post on October 20. Ratner’s lawyer contacted Kohler and said they would sue if she didn’t take it down. Kohler did remove the post from Facebook but then began sharing the information in other places.

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All of this begs the question, why isn’t Brett Ratner suing the others with well-known names who are more likely to be believed? Brett Ratner’s Hawaii counsel Eric Seitz says that everything that Melanie Kohler has to say is pure fiction, and Brett Ratner intends to see his lawsuit through.

According to the court documents, Melanie Kohler’s accusations are stressing Brett Ratner out.

“Ratner is seeking an unspecified amount of general, special and punitive damages, and claims he’s suffered emotional distress, worry, anger and anxiety and his personal and professional reputations have been injured.”